Page 13 - Su'udi Relations with Eastern Arabi & Uman (1800-1870)

Government of Bombay, R. H. Thomas, ed. Selections from the Records of the
Bombay Government, New Scries, no. XXIV: Historical and Other Information
Connected with the Provinces of Oman, Bahrein, Muscat, and Other Places in the
Persian Gulf, Bombay, 1856. This is a collection of various articles on the
evolution and development of the Gulf area, the historical development of its
communities and their mutual relations, as well as the history of the Su‘udls
and their contacts with eastern Arabia and ‘Uman.
Government of India, C. U. Aitchison, ed. A Collection of Treaties,
Engagements, and Sanads Relating to India and Neighbouring Countries,
Calcutta, 1933. This collection preserves treaties and agreements signed
between the British government and the principalities of the Gulf region, and
provides useful historical background for each document.

Government of India, J. G. Lorimer (compiler), Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf
'Oman, and Central Arabia, Calcutta, 1908-1915, reprinted Farnborough,
Hants.,Gregg International Publishers, 1970, Shannon, Irish University
Press, 1970, in six volumes. Making use of numerous publications at his
disposal, Lorimer was able to compile this vast and rich source of information
dealing with the history and geography of the peninsula. It is one of the most
important works providing a significant account of Su‘udl relations with
eastern Arabia and ‘Uman. Its defect lies in the fact that Lorimer neither
consulted Arabic sources nor provided information relating to the history of
central and eastern Arabia prior to the eighteenth century.

Government of India, Annual Administration Reports of the Persian Gulf
Political Residency and Muscat Political Agency, Calcutta, annual between 1873
and 1904. Some of these reports were presented by E. C. Ross, the political
Resident of the Persian Gulf. Other notable authorities, such as S. B. Miles,
then the political agent at Masqat, also contributed good, informative articles.

Government of India, H. A. Saldanha, ed. Precis of Bahrein Affairs, 1854-
1904, Simla, 1904; Precis of Muscat Affairs from 1856, Simla, 1904; and Precis
of Najd Affairs, 1804-1904. These documents focus on the affairs of each
district and provide a wide range of data on the political and economic
conditions of the area under study.
One should keep in mind, however, that the writers and compilers of these
collections were British personnel often representing a British point of view.
Even so, the information provided is invaluable and cannot be matched by any
other source.

C. Arabic Sources

Rawdat al-Afkdrwa al-Afham,2 the earliest first-hand account of the history
of Najd in modern times, was written by the Maliki scholar Husayn b.
Ghannam, a native of al-Hasa who died an old man in 1225/1811. He left his
homeland to settle in Najd during the early period of the establishment of the
Su‘udl state. Ibn Ghannam greatly admired Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab

9